Former McAllen resident at Kavanaugh hearing target of...

1of22Former McAllen resident Zina Bash and White House Counsel Don McGahn listen during the hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington, DC.Photo: Brendan Smialowski /AFP /Getty Images

2of22See which Texans who have gotten in trouble for racist remarks and behavior.Photo: File

3of22Aaryn Gries, 22, a student at Texas State University, made several racist remarks on the CBS show "Big Brother" toward an Asian-American contestant during the show's 2013 run, calling Helen Kim a "squinty-eyed Asian" and telling her to "shut up and go make some (expletive) rice."Photo: Cliff Lipson, CBS

4of22Texas Gov. Rick Perry came under fire in 2011 after The Washington Post reported that a 1,070-acre plot in Paint Creek where Perry regularly invited friends, family members and other lawmakers to hunt had a large rock at its entrance with the word "Niggerhead" written on it. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Photo: Patrick Semansky, FRE / AP

5of22Karen Fitzgibbons, a fourth-grade teacher at Bennett Elementary School in Wolfforth, was fired after writing the following post after a controversial police incident in McKinney. "This make me ANGRY! This officer should not have had to resign. I'm going to just go ahead and say it...the blacks are the ones causing the problems and this 'racial tension.' I guess that's what happens when you flunk out of school and have no education. I'm sure their parents are just as guilty for not knowing what their kids were doing; or knew it and didn't care. I'm almost to the point of wanting them all segregated on one side of town so they can furt each other and leave the innocent people alone. Maybe the 50s and 60s were really on to something. Now, let the bashing of my true and honest opinion begin....GO! #imnotracist #imsickofthemcausingtrouble #itwasagatedcommunity"Photo: A-J Media/lubbockonline.com

6of22A T-shirt available on Etsy featuring University of Texas head football coach Charlie Strong drew condemnation for using the phrase, "Black is the new Brown," referring to Strong's race and former coach Mack Brown.Photo: Courtesy Etsy

7of22Chris Harris, a school board member at Hooks Independent School District in North Texas, resigned from the school district in December after posting an image of a Ku Klux Klan member with the caption "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" and several racist remarks on his Facebook page.Photo: User, Raw Story

8of22Vinita Hegwood, a second year Duncanville High School English teacher, was suspended without pay after taking to Twitter in November to tell "dumb duck (expletive) crackers" with opinions about ongoing racial unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, to "kill themselves."Photo: Fechter, Joshua I, Twitter

9of22Officials at Texas Tech University investigated photos of women who are allegedly part of the university's members of Zeta Tau Alpha international women’s fraternity holding a "Border Patrol" party in photos leaked anonymously to Gawker in October.Photo: Fechter, Joshua I, Courtesy of Gawker

10of22Clay Jackson, a junior varsity basketball coach at Allen High School, was placed on administrative leave in December 2014 after allegations surfaced that he repeatedly called a student player "Buckwheat," a black character from "Little Rascals." Photo via WFAA

11of22Esther Stokes, a 62-year-old former teacher in Montgomery, was accused of fondling a black female student, 7, in April 2013. Stokes claimed she could not have done so because she "doesn't like black and students" and is "prejudiced." She also told police that "she does not like the complainant" and has "very little to no interaction" with her.Photo: Humble PD

12of22The San Antonio Independent School District filed a complaint with the UIL in March 2012 after Alamo Heights students chanted “USA! USA!” following a boys basketball game against Edison High School, which had a predominantly Hispanic roster.Photo: TOM REEL, Express-News

13of22Parents of an African-American student sued San Antonio Christian Schools on Oct. 16, 2013, claiming its leaders had racist motivations in sabotaging their son's reputation and glorifying the Confederacy during a mandatory retreat. The Rev. Thaddeus Greene — an assistant pastor at True Vine Baptist Church on the city’s far West Side — and his wife, Sharon, sought damages on allegations of defamation and emotional distress.
SACS officials denied the allegations in a statement, calling the allegations “salacious” and the lawsuit “groundless.”SACS said the student was under disciplinary review before his parents withdrew him from the school.
Photo: Fechter, Joshua I, Google Maps

14of22Kurtis Cook, a volunteer firefighter for the Mabank Fire Department, was terminated June 19, 2015, after making a Facebook comment supporting Dylann Roof, the alleged gunman in a mass shooting at a historically black church in Charleston that left nine people dead.Photo: Screenshot via Instagram

15of22Click ahead for more racist fliers and posters that have been found in Texas.Photo: Twitter screengrab

22of22May 28, 2018Racist flyers were found in the yards of Schertz and Cibolo residents urging them to report undocumented immigrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. At the bottom of the flyer is a phone number for ICE and the URL for Blood and Soil's website. Read more: Racist flyers from neo-Nazi group found in San Antonio-area neighborhoodsPhoto: Shanna Carver Hunter

West Texas’ top law enforcement official blasted Twitter attacks on his wife, who grew up in McAllen, during Tuesday's confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

John F. Bash III, who was appointed U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas by President Donald Trump late last year, took offense to many of the comments that focused on his wife, Zina Bash, who sat behind Kavanaugh during the hearing in Washington. In particular, John Bash took aim at commenters who claimed Zina Bash made the “white power” sign when she rested her fingers on her lap in a certain way.

The Bashes, both Ivy League graduates, clerked at separate times for Kavanaugh, who served on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh declared fervently at his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday the court "must never, never be viewed as a partisan institution." But that was at the end of a marathon day marked by rancorous exchanges between Dem

Video: KTVU

“The attacks today on my wife are repulsive,” John Bash tweeted. “Everyone tweeting this vicious conspiracy theory should be ashamed of themselves. We weren't even familiar with the hateful symbol being attributed to her for the random way she rested her hand during the hearing.

Zina is Mexican on her mother's side and Jewish on her father's side, John Bash noted. She was born in Mexico, and her grandparents were holocaust survivors, John Bash stressed.

“We, of course, have nothing to do with hate groups, which aim to terrorize and demean people — never have and never would."

“Some of the Twitter comments have even referred to our baby daughter. I know there are good folks on both sides of the political divide,” he said. “I hope that people will clearly condemn this idiotic and sickening accusation.”

Guillermo has been with the Express-News for 10 years, and has covered federal court and its investigative agencies for most of that time. He has also covered immigration, minority affairs and legal affairs as part of the projects team here and for other print, TV and radio outlets. Guillermo has also worked in Central America, Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and California and his work has appeared in various publications, including the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, New York Post, Newsday, Denver Post and the Albuquerque Journal.